Mining-caisson.



No. s37,|37. Y mnnmv Nov. I4, |899.

A. F. LgcAs. MINING CAISSON.

(Application led June 17, 1899.

(NoModeI.)

2 smetti-Sheet l,

www@

A TTOHNEIS,

No. 637.137. Patented Nov. I4, |899. A. F. LucAs.

MINING CAISSON.

(Application led June 17, 1899.) ('No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

/N VENTO? www@ A TTOHNEIS.

'THE Nonms PETERS co., Puoroumo.. wAsmum'oN. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANTHONY F. LUCAS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MINING-CAISSON.

SPECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent N0. 637,137, dated November 1.4, 1899.

` Application filed June 17, 1899.v Serial No, 720,947. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTHONY F. LUCAS, of Washington city, in the District of Columbia,

have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mining-Caissons, of which the following is a speciiication.

` My invention has reference to the sinking r der pressure to cut down through and remove the earth until bed-rock is reached.

My invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of a caisson of,

say, six feet inrdiameter, more or less, which is made in cylindrical sections which are successively bolted one on top of the other to form a continuous tight vertical caisson,which is gradually sunk to bed-rock by hydraulic action, the caisson being provided with a boring-face and with means for conducting'the water thereto. The caisson is also provided with special means for extending the lower section into bed-rock-and securing it therein with a water-tight connection, which prevents the seeping of water back into the ,shaft from the earth above, and is also provided with special means for turning the entire caisson to produce a boring action to facilitate its downward -movement through the stier bodies of clay, as will be hereinafter more fully described with reference tothe drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side View of the derrick-scaffolding and the caisson-sections within the same.V Fig. 2 is an enlarged View in vertical section of the upper and lower portions of the caisson. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a View of the underneath boring-face. Fig. 4a is a sectional detail thereof, and Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of devices for oscillating the caisson about its vertical axis for promoting its passage throu gh the earth.

In the drawings, Fig. l, S represents an elevated scaolding or framework of heavy timbers, within which the caisson C is sustained and .guided while being sunk into the earth. For regulating its movementa series ofbrake-shoes s, Figs. l and 3, are provided at suitable points along its sides, which'are by means of set-screws s brought to a frictional bearing against the sides of the caisson, both to retard its too-rapid descent, when necessary, and toA hold it in vertical alinement and guide it in its downward movement. The caisson is composed of cylindrical sections of heavy boiler-iron, provided at its edges with suitable holes for successively bolting section upon section as the caisson works its way into the earth. Centrally within the caisson there is (see Fig. 2) arranged a vertical water-pipe A, which is xed at its bottom end to the boring-face of the caisson and is built up in sections from time to time. This pipe conveys to the bottom of the caisson the head of water which is employed to disintegrate and remove the earth from the downward path of the caisson. The pipes A A2 are connected to each other at suitable distances apart by a three-way gate having valves c a' a2, of which only the two valves a' a2 need be employed. The upper valve a2 controls the upper opening of the gate and the valves a a the lateral opening A' A3. The Iiexible wa ter-pipe P from the pump connects with the lateral opening A', and when the upper valve a2 is closed and the valve a on the side is closed and a on the other side is open water entering through the opening A is delivered to the bottom of the caisson continuously and without interruption. I prefer to have the central stand-pipe A of metal and connect the liexible hose-pipe with it at the top opening A', so as to avoid the bursting strain which a long vertical length of iiexible pipe would have at its lower end from the head of water and internal pressure. In building up the central stand-pipe I leave the three-way gate in place and merely screw (see Fig. '2) a second section A2 of water-pipe into the upper opening of the gate. The gate is then a mere connection in which the openings A' A3 are closed by its valves a a', and the other valve a2V is open to give free passage of water from A2 to A. On the top of the section A2 another three-way gate is then placed and the flexible hose-pipe connected to its lateral opening in the same way. v

At the bottom of the caisson there is an external telescopic section C', which is tempo- IOO passes.

rarily bolted to caisson C and at its lower end has bolted to it a sectional driving-head or boring face composed of four quadrantal plates B B B B. These have radial lianges b b on their upper faces, that are bolted together. These sectional plates are cast hol- 1ow,with passages b' opening both peripherally out-side the caisson, as seen in Fig. 2, and also centrally into the water-pipe A. At the four radial joints of the quadrantal plates B there are formed thickened bearing-faces b2 b2 and sharp radial ribs b3. The bearing-faces Z22 rest on the earth and leave channel-ways between them for the water to issue beneath the false bottom, while the sharp edges b3 act as cutters when the caisson is turned. The radial bearings b2 and cutting edges b3 are not only opposite the joints of quadrantal plates, but at intermediate points also, as seen in Fig. 4. In the center of the false bottom there is a detachable spider E at the bottom of the water-pipe A, through which the water This spider is slightly conical on its lower face and forms a centralizing boringbit. As the water passes under heavy pressure down the tube A it strikes the earth underneath the false bottom and, disintegrating it, carries it outwardly. At the periphery of the caisson it meets another strongly-energized and unretarded stream of water, which carries the suspended earth up with it around the external walls of the caisson to the surface. This false bottom, having the divided or double-acting currents, constitutes an important fe'ature of my invention. At the outer edges of the false bottom the water-passages have an upward bend, so as to give an upward trend to the currents to more ei'ectu ally lift the sedimentary matter.

When the caisson strikes a bed of sticky clay and the latter is not disintegrated with sufficient rapidity by the unassisted action of the water alone, I provide means for turning the entire caisson with an oscillatory motion about a vertical axis. For this purpose (see Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7) a metal frame I-l is provided with journal-boxes to receive a short shaft having rigidly attached to it a crankhandle I andapinion t'. This pinion meshes with a larger gear-wheel 2, having on its side a smaller gear i3, both of which are mounted on a short shaft t4, journaled in the framework. This shaft passes at its end through a horizontal slot g in a casting G, which is curved to correspond to the caisson and is provided with a curved series of gear-teeth, (see Fig. 7,) with which the gear-wheel i3 engages. The casting G has a series of ribs e2, which play in vertical grooves e of a curved plate K, rigidly bolted to the side of the caisson. This plate Knot only has grooves c, but has undercutgrooves c', which receive headed bolts e4, that connect it to the casting G. Vith this construction when the crank I is turned the gears M21, acting on the teeth of casting G, turn the caisson about its vertical axis, while the vertical sliding connection formed by the grooves e e with the ribs and lbolts of casting G allows the caisson to settle down without interference with the action of the gears. When the caisson is thus turned first one way and then the other, the sharp radial edges b3 and the centrall spider E cut into the refractory clay, and thus loosen it suiciently to be carried away by the force of the water.

After the shaft has been sunk through the earth to bed-rock it is necessary to tightly connect the bottom of the caisson to the bedrock to prevent the water from flowing back into the shaft at this point. For this purpose the section C of the caisson and the lowest section C are connected together telescopically and are temporarily bolted together. A series of brackets D are connected in inverted position to the caisson-section C, and another set D2are connected in upright position to the lower section C'. Screw-jacks D are placed upon the brackets D2 and are made to bear against the upper brackets D@ Now when bed-rock is reached the quadrantal sections B of the false bottom are unbolted one at a time and are taken out, and the bed-rock is drilled and blasted until a hole larger than the caisson is formed. Then the Lbrackets D' D2 are put in place and the jacks inserted between them and screwed up until the outerand lower section C of the caisson is bodily forced down over the upper section C far enough to penetrate within the hole in the bed-rock and is there cemented tightly in place, so that no water can enter the caisson at this point. To permit easy application of the brackets D D2, they are provided with spurs d, which are seated in holesin the walls of the caisson.

With regard to the function of the brakeshoes s in the framework above, these in connection with a hyd raulically-operated caisson have an important use, as they sustain the great weight of the caisson when itis not being rotated and prevent the caisson from settling down in the mud and occluding or closing up the lower waterways in its drivinghead.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A caisson having at its lower end a rigidly-attached and closed driving-head made in sections, and a central water-supply pipe also rigidly connected and bearing on the lower side rigidly-attached boring devices connected to and turning with the caisson about its vertical axis, substantially as described.

2. A caisson having at its lower end a driving-head or false bottom having channels on its outside or lower face, and also channelways within the same and opening peripherally, both said channel-ways opening centrally into a water-supply as described.

3. A caisson consisting of an outer casing, a closed lower end portion rigidly attached to the outer casing, and a rigidly-attached IOO" IIO

central water-pipe opening through the lower end portion, said lower end portion having external channel-ways in its lower face communicating with the central water-pipe and extending outwardly to the external casing substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

4. In a caisson, the combination of a cylindrical upper casing, a cylindrical lower casing telescoping on the upper casing and both made with seat-holes near their meeting edges, brackets having spurs adapted to iit into said seat-holes in opposition to each other and jacks arranged between the brackets to force the lower section down substantially as described.

5. A caisson having a hydraulic drivinghead closing its lower end and provided with A cutting devices on its lower face, means for holding the caisson in vertical position, and means for turning the whole caisson about its vertical axis substantially as described.

6. A caisson having a hydraulic drivinghead at its lower end, means for holding the caisson in vertical position, and oscillating devices for the caisson comprising a plate with vertical guideways rigidly attached to the caisson, a toothed and curved rack-bar having corresponding sliding guides fitting those of the rigid plate, and gear-wheels operating upon the rack-bar, whereby the caisson is turned and is allowed to settle down without disconnecting or interfering with the gears substantially as described.

7. The oscillating devices for the caisson, consisting of rigid plate K with grooves e and e; the plate G with bolts, rack-teeth, and slots g; the shaft i4 entering slot g and having rigidly-attached gear-wheels; and means for rotating them substantially as described.

8. The segmental driving-head for the caisson, comprising the section B with flanges b on the upper side, bearing-faces b2 and cutting edges b3 on the lower sides, and intermediate waterways b opening peripherally substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. The combination with a caisson built up from sections; of a central water-tube also built up of sections and having valved connections permanently incorporated in its length of sections substantially as described. lO. The combination with a caisson, and its surrounding and supporting framework; of a series of brake-shoes mounted on the framework and bearing against the walls of the caisson to sustain a part of its weight and prevent the too-rapid descent of the caisson, andthe closure of its water-channels as described. K p

ANTHONY F. LUCAS. Witnesses:

W. HAGGETT, C. J. BOATNER. 

